Ninety-nine Christian pilgrims returned to Egypt from Jeruslaem on Monday on an Aarsena flight after celebrating Easter.

It's Easter Sunday, but it's hardly a joyful occasion for Egyptian Copts, who are still mourning the recent loss of their longstanding patriarch, Pope Shenouda III, and eyeing domestic political developments with considerable apprehension.

The Constituent Assembly crisis is an opportunity to reach a consensus on its composition and to avoid previous mistakes, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed al-Beltagy said Monday. On his Facebook page, Beltagy, who is also a Brotherhood MP, said the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces was wrong to hold a meeting with party leaders Sunday because organizing the drafting of the constitution is Parliament's job.

Shortly before 9pm on Saturday, dressed-up men, women and children solemnly trickled in through the main entrance of St Mark's Cathedral on Cairo's Ramsis Street to attend this year's Coptic Easter mass. Two dozen police officers were already stationed near the gates, while an army tank stood in the distance flying an Egyptian flag.

For ecstatic Hazem Salah Abu Ismail supporters outside the State Council yesterday, the Administrative Court’s decision concerning his mother’s nationality is decisive.

The Salafist Front has announced plans to participate in mass demonstrations in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday under the slogan, "the only demand - together against the remnants of the former regime".

Presidential hopeful Khairat al-Shater described the ruling issued on Wednesday by the Cairo Administrative Court on a challenge to Hazem Salah Abu Ismail's presidential campaign as "a victory for the credibility of Islamists."

Islamic movements in Egypt slammed the presidential candidacy of ex-intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and threatened to sue him and organize protests until he is barred from the poll. The Salafi Front called Tuesday for all political parties take to the streets in a mass demonstration against Suleiman and other figures of Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party posted on its Facebook page that secretary general of the Presidential Elections Commission Hatem Bagato is a relative of presidential candidate Amr Moussa, which Bagato has confirmed.

In an effort to downplay any friction between Islamist presidential frontrunners Hazem Abu-Ismail and Khairat El-Shater, supporters of the two men on Wednesday repeated the chant "Hazem and Khairat are one hand" at a rally in front of Egypt's State Council.

Egypt's State Council has adjourned until Wednesday the case filed by Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail, wherein the presidential hopeful is demanding that the Ministry of Interior turnover official proof that his mother is a dual national.

Egypt's Coptic Church on Thursday issued a statement criticising the system used to form Egypt's recently-established constituent assembly, tasked with drafting a new national constitution. Half the members of the 100-seat assembly were drawn from Egypt's first post-Mubarak parliament – roughly three quarters of which is controlled by Islamist parties – and half from among non-parliamentarians.

Members from the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and the Salafi-oriented Nour Party have slammed a ruling by the State Council's Administrative Court on Tuesday, which reversed an earlier Parliament decision to form the panel tasked with drafting Egypt's new constitution.

A greatly-respected Islamist figure, who is seen by many as a true fearless revolutionary voice and a tremendously knowledgeable yet jovial and modest man, Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail gained in popularity and appeared to stand a strong chance of assuming power in post-Mubarak Egypt.

Electronic warfare between Khairat al-Shater's supporters and opponents has escalated on social networking websites since the Brotherhood leader was nominated to run last week. On Facebook, the number of fans of the "I will not elect Khairat al-Shater" page reached 141000, compared to the 90000 fans of Shater's official campaign page.

Around 100 Coptic Christians flew from Cairo to Tel Aviv Monday in contravention of a ban placed on travel to the Occupied Palestinian Territories by the Church's late patriarch Pope Shenouda III. "I am travelling to witness the divine light of Christ that glows in Jerusalem," one of the pilgrims said.

A bid for power by Hosni Mubarak's former intelligence chief is an insult to Egypt's revolution that, if successful, would trigger a second nationwide revolt, the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate for Egypt's presidency said.

After the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak, Kamal El-Helbawy returned to Egypt after spending 23 years as the Muslim Brotherhood's spokesperson in Europe. The 73-year-old arrived with high expectations but became increasingly critical of the group he had defended for years. He resigned from the group during a live TV broadcast on Saturday after the Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie announced that the group would nominate his deputy, Khairat El-Shater, for president.

JERUSALEM — Thousands of Christians gathered in Jerusalem for Easter Sunday to commemorate Jesus Christ's resurrection, crowding into one of Christianity's holiest churches, worshipping, singing and praying. Catholics and Protestants took in turns to hold ceremonies within the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built on the site where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI implored the Syrian regime Sunday to heed international demands to end the bloodshed and voiced hope that the joy of Easter would comfort Christians suffering because of their faith.

After leaving Tahrir Square late on Friday, supporters of presidential hopeful, Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail, threatened to escalate their protests against what they describe as a fraudulent political and media campaign against the Salafist candidate. Their demonstrations already saw some chaos and violence.